2016 ISA

admin2016Jan-21 1920 View

ISA 2016 Overview.

Trending 2016 04 27

ISA has now come and gone. Thursday was the best ever show day since I started exhibiting in 1988.

Trade shows are hopefully where some of us get our first, second or even third or more hands on experiences. If there is a possible negative side to a huge trade show it is there are so m any booths to visit and so many competitors. Not that competition in itself is bad, at least legitimate competitors.

As an attendee you have a lot of choices and the more legitimate information you can gather, hopefully the better choices you can make. So at ISA we relish the chance to meet new prospect and renew long term customer friendships.

That being said I would be remise if I did not show dissatisfaction with patent infringement. Having a patent is a multi-dimensional tool and hardship. For those questionable manufacturers who do not care about the value of a patent and ripping of another’s investment, shame on you. Your day will come.

At this year’s ISA two companies blatantly showed products infringing on our patents and they are aware they are infringing on our patents. I approached both before the exhibit halls opened and the first company fussed but took the offending product down. This is also the same company who copied another product we have and actually used our Trademarked “Lattice”…for a while. Amazing. We will see how the legal battle progress. The other company refused to remove their version. Is a Lawsuit our next move? Even after the show this Chinese factory is playing word games. There were numerous other (six we found) Chinese importers also with the same patent infringement and their day will come also.

That being said the option we do have that we can control is to go after N American users, which we will also do. It is a sad Governmental state when our Government does nothing to protect is US citizens and factories, compounded by the fact the legal system wins no matter what.

It is a shame more and more US companies are putting themselves in the position of buying nothing but price. Yet these same companies complain when they lose a job to an importer. What allows that mentality to go unabated? A Global Market is one thing. A patent infringement is another and the user and End User might be innocent victims, however most know from everyday experiences “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”.

Again on a positive note as I started, the show was great and we made new contacts, re-energized relationships and cemented long term deals. Our growth, prospect and customer base continues to grow as does our product mix, which is unlike all others, by design. We want to thank our customers and our prospects for their opportunities, our friends and our families!